“Lou, you should come with me. Please? I need to show you something.” My older sister, Louise, sat stoic on the sofa, her back perfectly straight and her legs crossed at the knee. She glanced at me over her book.

“And why would I want to come with you? What’s so special that you need to show me?”

“So go play a video game. I’m busy.” She turned her full attention back to her book and I sighed. Mr. Thomas was waiting, and this time I didn’t want to leave alone. Nobody had believed me when I told them I’d been all across the universe last time.

Of course, that was probably because Mr. Thomas had dropped me back at the same second I’d left.

“I’m not gonna move until you tell me where we’re going,” she said with a huff.

“Oh come on!” I said, balling my hands up into fists as I turned around to face her. Why did she have to do this now? We only had to go a little further and all would be revealed, why’d she have to always try to weasel out of everything? “It’s just past the bushes here. I swear, it’s awesome!”

“What is?” she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose with her finger and looking at me skeptically.

“We’re gonna miss it and I’m gonna hate you!” I stomped back to her, grabbed her arm and started pulling. No luck. I walked around behind her and started pushing.

“Get off my butt!” she shrieked, smacking me with her book, “We are in public, you little creep!”

“Is everything proper?” I cringed. She was supposed to see the ship first, not Mr. Thomas. She’d never understand.

“I am Mr. Thomas,” Mr. Thomas said, “and I’m really quite sure I exist, thank you.” His voice was thunderous and powerful without being intimidating. “I don’t appreciate being told I don’t. Now unhand my companion. There’s a nebula on the other side of the galaxy that’s got our names on it.”

“Told you,” I said, finally pulling my arm free. Louise grabbed for me again. “I wanted to surprise you. I was taking you to his ship!”

“What?” Mr. Thomas and Lou asked in unison. They both sounded shocked and mildly disgusted.

“Jenna, I’m not something you can bring to show and tell. People can’t know about me. Nobody but you can know about me. If the wrong person were to find out about me, I’d be arrested and vivisected quicker than you can say ‘Doctor Who,’” Mr. Thomas said, giving me a stern look.

“What’s vivisected mean?”

“They’d cut him open and study him. But they only do that on aliens. It’s on the History Channel all the time.”

“They do it to aliens?” I asked, worried.

“And that’s why you can’t go telling everybody about me. Now run along and get buckled while I grab your sister,” Mr. Thomas said, his expression softening. He turned his attention to Louise.

“I’m not going with you,” she said, backing away slowly. Mr. Thomas matched her pace, staying only a few feet away from her. I gawked for a moment.

“Jenna, get in the ship and get yourself seated comfortably,” Mr. Thomas said, keeping his eyes trained on Lou. I knew the second I turned around that she’d try to run and Mr. Thomas would snatch her up. I waited a moment longer, only to be scolded with, “Now, Jenna, or we’ll just go back and research for your next history test in real time like we did last time you came with me.”

I sighed and turned to walk to the ship. As I looked through the trees to find the hatch, I heard Lou’s muffled screams. He’d gotten her, all right.

As I climbed into the ship, Mr. Thomas caught up to me. I glanced back as I was about to enter, and saw Lou fighting against him as hard as she could. “Calm down, Lou, nothing bad’s gonna happen!” I looked up and down the corridor inside the ship before stepping in and deciding to go left. It was always difficult to tell which way was which when he had the ship cloaked.

“Wrong way,” he said as he ascended the ramp in a few long strides. He let Louise go as he closed the hatch, and she threw herself at it despite it being closed already.

“Let us go!” she cried, “I won’t tell anyone about you I swear just let us go!” She was on her knees, tugging at Mr. Thomas’s sleeve. “Please don’t kill us!”

He looked at her the same way a cow would look at an oncoming train and said, “Why would I want to kill you?” He then pulled his arm away and gestured for me to follow him before turning and walking in the opposite direction from where I’d gone. I hurried to catch up, dodging my sister’s attempt to grab me once more.

Mr. Thomas kept his pace deliberately slow to allow my short 10-year-old legs to catch up. When I did, I hugged him around his waist from behind. “I’m sorry I told her about you,” I said, thinking about how disappointed he’d looked outside. He stopped walking and turned to face me. He crouched down until he was my height and looked me in the eye.

“It’s all right, love. You’re a child and children make mistakes,” He said with a shrug and an indifferent expression. “But if you tell anyone about me again without clearing it with me first, I will not come back. Do you understand?” I nodded, and he hugged me, patting me on the back. “You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed you, Jenna. It’s only been a few weeks for you but it’s been many years for me.”

“You went traveling without me?” I asked as we started walking again. I felt a little hurt.

“Of course. It’s my life. All I do is travel. Never stay in one place too long, that’s my motto.”

“But you said you’d take me with you.”

“You can’t run with me forever. Not now, at least. Maybe when you’re old enough to leave home.”